PATIENT SUPPLIED DEVICE FOR USE IN HEALTH SYSTEM

To recommend that hospitals and health systems have a system in place for determining the risk versus benefit of permitting a patient to use his or her own medication administration devices; further,

To advocate that hospitals and health systems have policies and procedures, including the training of staff, on the use and management of medication administration devices and devices that augment medication administration (e.g., continuous glucose monitors); further,

To advocate that hospitals and health systems ensure that pharmacists participate in the identification of medication administration devices brought in by patients and communicate those findings to the interprofessional care team; further,

To advocate for adequate reimbursement for preparation, order review, and other costs associated with the safe provision and administration of medications and use of related devices.

Rationale

The potential exists for serious patient safety and liability issues for healthcare staff when the use of patients’ own devices is allowed. Devices unfamiliar to staff are particularly risky and may result in patient harm. There are, however, occasions when the benefits of using patients’ own devices may outweigh the risks. Organizational policies and procedures should exist for handling such situations, outline expedient methods to gain familiarity and competency demonstration with a device (e.g., insulin pump, surgically implanted pain management pump), and delineate the process for documenting use of a device in the electronic health record. A pharmacist should be available to verify the medication and the associated device and use a technique (e.g., Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation [SBAR], team huddle) for communicating critical information to the interprofessional care team.